The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)’s “Concrete Pavement and Materials Technical Feedback Group (TFG)” met in September, 2020 to discuss several focal areas that were identified six months earlier, in March, 2020 during the group’s formative meeting in Dallas, Texas.
Gina Ahlstrom, Pavement Materials Team Leader-FHWA announced the launch of “Demonstration to Advance New Pavement Technologies”—a new pooled fund—with the goal to support and showcase the implementation of innovative pavement technologies products and processes by DOTs. Led by FHWA (with a $2 Million contribution), the pooled fund has a duration of 5 years. State DOTs can participate for $10,000.
Key topics included:
• Development of performance engineered mixture (PEM) programs
• Implementation of strategic pavement preservation
• Integration of sustainability and resilience into decision making process
• Various other topics identified by the technical advisory committee
Dr. Larry Sutter, Assistant Dean of Research and External Engagement-Michigan Tech, provided an excellent update on “Trends in Fly Ash Use and Supply”. He provided an in-depth summary of fly ash use and benefits, commenting that fly ash supply dynamics are changing and materials are in short supply in some markets.
He reported that concrete pavement materials are trending toward more ternary mixtures and new supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs). Testing and verification of performance will become increasingly important with these new mixtures and constituent materials, noting that there’s a significant opportunity with harvested (or beneficiated) fly ash from various sources (e.g., detention ponds) in the coming years.
FHWA EDC website banner .Click to enlarge
The Concrete Pavement and Materials TGF’s discussions also focused on concrete overlays on distressed asphalt, notably, what gaps may exist in design methods and guidance materials. This effort is seen as complementary to FHWA’s ongoing “Every Day Counts” EDC-6 effort on Targeted Overlays Pavement Solutions. The article, “FHWA Expands Overlays Outreach to Division Offices“, is the latest in ACPA’s continuing updates on Round 6 of the FHWA’s “Every Day Counts” initiative, specifically FHWA’s focus on targeted overlay pavement solutions (TOPS).
FHWA formally rolled out the TOPS program to its division offices on Monday, September 21, 2020 after announcing the selection on August 31, 2020 that targeted overlays pavement solutions (TOPS), including concrete pavement overlays, have been formally selected as one of the innovations in the 6th round of EDC (for 2020/2021). The mission of the EDC TOPS program is to:
• Extend pavement life
• Increase load-carrying capacity
• Improve safety, mobility, and user satisfaction in a cost-effective and sustainable manner
FHWA notes that this will be done by targeting pavement overlay solutions to Federal, State, and local transportation agencies. The EDC Concrete TOPS team will focus on building awareness about concrete overlays and usage, identifying champions at state highway agencies, sharing information at upcoming workshops and conferences, and training decision makers via peer exchanges and webinars.
FHWA describes overlays as, “Solutions for integrating innovative overlay procedures into practices that can improve performance, lessen traffic impacts, and reduce the cost of pavement ownership”
Eric Prieve P.E., Concrete Engineer-Colorado DOT, presented a concrete overlay case history from SH 13—north of Craig, CO. A 6-mile long 6-ft x 6-ft x 6-in. concrete overlay of a distressed asphalt route in NW Colorado, the project employed performance engineered mixture (PEM) concepts, which resulted in an exceptionally durable and smooth pavement. Innovative pilot car operations were also used and contributed to continuous roadway operation and enhanced safety. The project won both an ACI State Award for Excellence in Concrete and an ACPA National Gold Award for Excellence in Concrete Pavement Overlays. This EDC-6 TOPS case study is another example of the more than 10 million SY of concrete overlays built by CDOT in the last few decades.
LINKS:
Formative March 2020 Concrete Pavement and Materials Technical Feedback Group (TFG) meeting: http://www.acpa.org/fhwa-tfg/
FHWA Overlay Expansion story: http://www.acpa.org/24222-2/
FHWA Spotlights Concrete Overlays: http://www.acpa.org/23902-2/
FHWA’s EDC-6 website: https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/innovation/everydaycounts/edc_6/
FHWA’s TOPS website: https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/innovation/everydaycounts/edc_6/targeted_overlay_pavement.cfm
ISCP September article titled “2 FHWA Notices! MCTC FREE VIRTUAL Technician Training & EDC Program Spotlights Concrete Overlays”: https://www.concretepavements.org/2020/09/24/fhwa-mctc-free-virtual-technician-training-edc-program-spotlights-concrete-overlays/